Kon Knueppel had a little bit of a coming out party with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists as the Charlotte Hornets took down the Dallas Mavericks, 87-69.

The Hornets controlled this game from the outset, much like they did in their opener against the Jazz. After a solid start, the game turned into a bricklaying contest for most of the first half. The Hornets manufactured a couple of spurts that were good enough to create a little bit of distance. A big run in the third quarter and another at the beginning of the fourth turned the game into a laugher, which allowed the Hornets to empty their summer league bench and cruise to the win.

Takeaways

• Kon Knueppel bounced back after a very uncomfortable summer league debut. The stat line doesn’t do his play justice. He was passive for the first quarter and a half or so, but he buried a deep three that seemed to get him going.

The vast majority of his production came after that jumper. He took on a larger role handling the ball and had a number of really nice dropoffs to PJ Hall. He got into the paint pretty consistently and made good plays once he got there, just like he did at Duke. There wasn’t a lot of wow plays, but it is uncanny how naturally he makes the right decision.

• Sticking with Knueppel, I think I might have been most pleased with his defense. On first watch, it felt like he was able to stay in front of anyone that tried to go at him in isolation. He looked quicker than he’s been given credit for.
• KJ Simpson looked good again orchestrating the offense and scoring the ball efficiently. He’s looked like an NBA player playing in summer league, which is probably better than many would’ve expected given the season he had last year.
• Tidjane Salaün didn’t play a whole lot, but he did cash in a couple of triples.
• The Hornets have not looked like a summer league team. The ball has been moving on offense, which is a credit to Simpson, Knueppel, Damion Baugh, and the rest of the Hornets ball handlers. Defensively, the group has been extraordinarily connected while giving maximal effort from top to bottom. They’re playing winning basketball as a team, which is exceedingly rare for summer league teams full of guys trying to stand out and develop as individuals.